


Don't like the ending? Then we'll find one that's yours.

by midnightmew



Category: Rusty Quill Gaming (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Historical, Alternate Universe - Victorian, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arranged Marriage, Canon typical Barrett Rackett, Dysfunctional Family, Everyone Is Gay, F/F, Family Issues, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-09
Updated: 2019-08-09
Packaged: 2020-08-13 22:02:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 18,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20181418
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/midnightmew/pseuds/midnightmew
Summary: Prince Hamid Saleh Haroun Al-Tahan does not want to get married. He's already in a perfectly happy relationship with one Zolf Smith. However, as royalty he has very little say in the matter.Luckily his wife to be- Sasha Rackett- is just as uninterested as he is, particularly when a certain priestess of Aphrodite catches her eye.





	Don't like the ending? Then we'll find one that's yours.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone on the RQDBFC for all the encouragement,, I love you all! And happy birthday to Abbegail- I hope you enjoy this! 
> 
> Thank you so much to Em for all the lovely art and being amazing to work with! You can check out more of her art [here](https://mobile.twitter.com/magicbonchshell)
> 
> Content warnings- arranged marriage, toxic family relationships, attempted murder
> 
> The title and all the section titles are taken from the song 'Ready Now' by Dodie.  
#

_ _

_i- I was hurting and you knew_

Of all the moments Prince Hamid Saleh Haroun Al-Tahan had lived through in his 23 years of life, he reckoned this had to be one of the worst. He was leaving Cairo, a city where he had lived all his life, for London, all the way over on the other side of the world. He knew next to nothing about the place except that it was cold, it rained a lot and that it was home to one of England’s most influential figures, Barrett Rackett. And to make matters worse, the city was also where he was to live with his _wife, _who he had never even met before. As one of the younger children of the Kingdom of Tahan, he was more valuable forming political alliances than he ever would be in the running of the country. When he had been younger, he had entertained dreams that maybe his less important status would allow him to live a life free from royal duty, adventuring around the world, learning magic as he went. Unfortunately, here he was, about to be married off for the good of his fathers’ international relations, and about learning magic well…

_Hamid had never been one for the classroom. His tutors had always despaired at how fidgety he was: never sitting still in his seat, always tapping his pen against the desk, or swinging his legs back and forth. Books had never been his thing either, which frustrated him as much as it did the teachers. He wanted so badly to be good at learning, for it was the only way he would ever get to learn the magic that he felt such an intense longing for in his soul, as though he were missing a part of himself. Nothing seemed to make it any easier for him, he could only get through a couple of lines of a book before his mind would drift off to other places, and he would have to remind himself to focus._

_It had been late one evening, after a long day of failed attempts to study, and his father’s disappointment like a dark cloud over him, that something clicked in his head, in his heart. He was seated in front of the fireplace, watching the flames dart in front of his eyes- his face warm from all the heat that was emitted- when he raised his hand in front of the fire. He didn’t know why he had done that; it was more of a subconscious reaction to something that he couldn’t name than a premeditated movement, his hand just _had_ to be near the fire, and who was he to disobey. And that was when his fingers had sparked, little flames leaping out of the ends. He had been so shocked that he had reeled back from the fire, convinced that it must have been a trick of the light, but when on the other side of the room he reached his hand out again, he found that he had not been mistaken. _

_Everything he had ever heard had said that the only way to ever become a wizard was through many years of rigorous study and training. More reading than Hamid had ever done in his life was required to cast even the most basic of spells. Yet somehow, Hamid, who had no idea how this was even happening, let alone the precise techniques of spellcraft, was able to create flames from his fingertips. He had magic, and in that moment, he decided that he was going to keep it a secret. He wasn’t going to tell his father; he was going to keep it to himself until the right moment came along. He would wait until he knew what he was doing with it and he would be able to show his father how much of an asset it could be._

But now he would never get that chance, for here he was, mother and father by his side, sending him off to a country on the other side of the world. Granted, they weren’t actually that far away, being royalty had its perks as much as Hamid sometimes hated it, one of them being a steady supply of wizards willing to teleport him anywhere he wanted to go. It would only take him a second to get to London, but the idea of living somewhere so different still scared him. He didn’t think his parents would be particularly pleased if he came home often anyway, he was there to make a political alliance, not abandon his future wife every weekend to run back to Cairo.

He took a deep breath in, attempting to calm his nerves and still his shaking hands before hugging his parents before making his way to the teleportation circle.

‘We’ll miss you Hamid,’ his mother murmured as she embraced him tightly, giving him a kiss on the cheek. ‘But we know you’ll do us proud,’ a warm smile crossed her face that made Hamid squirm a little. He wanted to make his parents proud, of course he did, but this was most definitely not how he wanted to go about that. He could make them proud without being reduced to a political pawn, married off for the good of the country with no concern for what he actually wanted.

‘You’ll love her, I’m sure,’ his father told him, in a tone that he was sure was meant to be reassuring, but felt like anything but to Hamid.

The thing was, Hamid hadn’t told his father that he was already in love with another. Almost a year ago, Hamid had met a travelling cleric of Poseidon on a disastrous trip into the city. At first, he had just been starstruck at the idea of meeting someone who travelled the world taking jobs and doing good on behalf of his god. But it hadn’t been long before he realised that perhaps that little flutter he felt in his chest upon looking at the cleric- Zolf Smith, he had introduced himself as- wasn’t just admiration, but something that reached a little deeper.

The two of them hadn’t fallen in love so much as clumsily stumbled into it. For the week that Zolf had been in Cairo, the two had been inseparable, Hamid doing his best to sneak out as much as possible to see him. He knew he would never be able to tell his family about his love; they would never approve of him being with someone whose family name carried with it only secrets and history. There was no money or power associated with Zolf Smith, and while Hamid didn’t care- being rather the hopeless romantic himself- he knew his family would not share his attitude. 

So, they stuck to meeting in secret, every few months or so when Zolf’s work brought him back to the city. Hamid could not begrudge him for continuing to travel- he would too if he had the chance- and given just how secretive Hamid had to be, it would be unfair to expect him to stay if the two of them couldn’t even be open to the rest of the world about it. So, they had to make do with visits every now and then with a mass of letters between the two of them in the meantime. Hamid had to field questions from his family about the envelopes that kept arriving for him, coming up with a different excuse each time they asked, hoping that his siblings wouldn’t pry too much.

He hoped Zolf would be able to come and visit him in London, he was from England, so maybe he returned there as often as he did Cairo. Hamid sure hoped so. He had sent him a long letter explaining the whole situation, saying he really didn’t want to break up, and that he was going to try his best to come to an arrangement with his wife. He was sure that she would most likely want to have other partners too- people she actually loved and hadn’t been forced into marrying for political gain. He hadn’t had a response yet, but he knew letters always took a while to get to where Zolf was, sometimes being forwarded through several different temples of the cult of Poseidon before they made their way to the one he was currently staying at. They could surely come to some agreement between him, his fiancée and Zolf. He _had _to be able to, for he didn’t know what he would do if it all went wrong. 

He had never been in love in that way before, and he lived for the lazy afternoons spent practicing his spells leant against Zolf’s side, while he read some trashy romance novel. Sometimes he would read to Hamid: books about magic which Hamid loved- it was so much easier to take in the information when he could wander around the room and make little sparks with his fingers instead of trying to focus on a page for an extended period of time; and sometimes his romance novels, which though Hamid always dismissed as trashy and full of the same plots over and over again, he couldn’t deny he had found himself invested in, begging Zolf to keep reading the next chapter.

He couldn’t imagine a future without Zolf in it, but the day his father had called him in to his room to talk, everything in his life had been turned on its head.

The wizard who was currently on duty for the teleportation circle waved him over, and flashing a last smile to his parents- rather ingenuine, but they didn’t need to know that he wasn’t absolutely ecstatic to meet his new wife- before he walked into the arrangement of chalked runes on the floor and shut his eyes, letting the magic wash over him. Other people’s magic never felt quite the same as his own, but it still filled him with warmth, and a slight tingling in his fingertips, but with that was always the distinct sensation that the magic wasn’t _his. _He let the strange feeling envelop him as he kept his eyes tightly shut, he knew better than to keep them open when teleporting, he had made that mistake as a child and the nausea that came with it had lasted the whole day afterwards.

Once his feet touched down on solid ground, feeling at once like an instant and lifetime later, he opened his eyes. He was standing in a similar chalk circle in what looked to be an office. It looked awfully expensive, not that he wasn’t used to being around such luxury for his entire life, but the freshly polished hardwood floor looked far too fancy to be chalking runes on. Glancing around the room, he saw the priestess who had travelled with him just a few minutes ago waiting for him, her pale pink robes making her stand out in the darkness of the room. She was called Azu and was one of the high priestesses of Aphrodite. She had come to London with him in order to help her church establish more of a presence in England. It seemed while Aphrodite was a common deity to worship back in Egypt, she wasn’t as well known here, with people tending to worship Poseidon in coast towns, and Hephaestus and Hermes in the more urban areas. So, she had come with him, as Lord Rackett- whose daughter Hamid was to marry- seemed keen on helping out such an important church figure. Hamid had seen Azu around before, she sometimes met with his father to give advice as a religious authority, and he had seen her across the dinner table more times than he could count, even if she had always tended to get on better in conversation with Aziza than him. But at the very least it was comforting to be travelling with a familiar face, he wasn’t surrounded by entirely unfamiliar people.

Just as he brushed down his suit- the teleportation had made it a little crumpled, and he was fidgeting with the collar, trying to get it neat around his neck- the heavy door swung open, and in walked an imposing figure, with a girl who looked to be a couple of years older than Hamid standing a few paces behind him and looking as though she would rather be anywhere in the world than here. He could only assume that the man was Barrett Racket and the girl was to be his wife.

‘Lord Rackett,’ Azu said, reaching out a hand, ‘A pleasure to meet you. I am Azu’ Rackett looked a little surprised at her confidence, clearly used to being the one in command of situations, but reached out his hand, as she grabbed it and shook it with much enthusiasm. The girl behind him seemed to smile a little bit at this display, Azu tended to have that effect on people.

‘You too, high priestess, I am honoured to be able to host you during your stay here.’ He said, though his face suggested that he thought nothing of the sort. Hamid knew the type of man he was just from a cursory glance; he had come across far too many corrupt politicians in his life not to know one upon sight. He walked over, trying to make a good first impression, though he sighed a little internally, this was going to be a long few months.

_ii- something new, something strange_

Sasha Rackett did not want to get married. Ever. She was perfectly happy doing her own thing in life, and she didn’t need all the stupid expectations and responsibilities that would come with marrying a _prince _of all people. She knew Barrett wanted the power that would come from her marrying such a powerful man, but she didn’t want to be reduced to a political pawn for the gain of a man that wasn’t even her father. Barrett Rackett had taken her in when she was younger, raised her to pose as his daughter in a stuffy life of nobility as he gained the favour of the Queen, eventually becoming a lord. And now he was about to marry her off to get him one step closer to royalty.

Sasha Rackett did not want to get married, that was, until she saw the high priestess standing there, draped in pink robes that perfectly complimented her warm brown skin, towering almost a foot above her. She felt her heart do a flip in her chest and reconsidered her previous stance. Maybe if the marriage was to this person in particular, she could get on board with it. She introduced herself as Azu, and her voice was so beautiful and soft that Sasha could practically feel herself going weak at the knees.

This was not how Sasha normally acted, even around the prettiest of women. Romance had never really been Sasha’s thing. When she had been younger, and more naïve perhaps, she had liked a boy named Jeremy. But that hadn’t worked out, he had moved away before she’d had a chance to tell him how she felt. That hadn’t felt the same as this. It was far more of a deep admiration of his skills- and she supposed the fact that he hadn’t been bad looking hadn’t hurt either- but she had been too young to really understand what crushes were. But this, well, Sasha wasn’t going to call it a crush yet, she didn’t even know the woman, but it was safe to say she had never felt quite this way about someone before. She was going to have to start coming up with excuses to go to the church of Aphrodite, and fast. 

She was brought back to the room with a sharp jab in the ribs by Barrett. Startling, she looked up to see the prince standing in front of her with his hand outstretched. She shook it gingerly, not exactly sure what she was supposed to be doing.

‘I’m, ‘m Sasha, nice to meet you I guess.’ She mumbled. She had never really been one for social situations. Barrett had tried to teach her to act as a Lady should, and though she now had the ability to run in high heels as well as she could in any other shoes, she had never really caught on to the etiquette side of things as well as he had hoped she would. Still, she passed well enough for the daughter of a Lord, as long as no one poked too closely into her past. Even if that were to happen, Barrett was loved by the queen, and those in power always had their ways of covering up information they didn’t want to get out. That was what she hated about this life, she was all for taking revenge on those who had wronged her and wasn’t afraid of a little violence, but she always thought it better to just get on with it, than deal with this convoluted game full of lies and deceit.

‘Nice to meet you at last Sasha,’ Hamid said, ‘I’ve heard so much about you.’ Sasha honestly couldn’t say the same, she hadn’t even known his name until she had been told to get ready this morning. She was wearing one of her nicest suits, sharp and black, with a dark green shirt. She had been told she had to wear a bit more colour, so she had a matching dark green pair of heeled boots. The heels were a bit of a pain, but she had gotten used to them over the years. At least her outfit was subdued compared to the purple monstrosity Hamid was wearing.

‘Well,’ Barrett said, walking out into the corridor. ‘I will show the young prince here to his rooms, if you could lead Azu to her quarters Sasha?’ He phrased it as a question, but she knew she hardly had a choice in the matter. Not like she was complaining about this. She didn’t really know how to talk to people, but she tried to find out more about the woman as she led her through the hallways of the house.

‘So, what brings you to London? I know it’s like, official church business or whatever, but that’s not exactly that clear of an explanation is it.’

Azu laughed at that, a full, loud laugh that made Sasha smile. It was a real laugh, not like the high-pitched dainty giggles people did just to be polite. ‘Well, the church of Aphrodite doesn’t really have much of an established presence here in London. So, part of why I’m here is to help make connections with some of the churches. As well as that, one of the best healers of Aphrodite, Aaron Fairhands, works here, and I want to learn everything I can from him before I return.’

‘You’re a healer?’ Sasha asked, curious.

‘One of the best in Cairo,’ she said with a proud smile, in a way that Sasha could tell she wasn’t trying to show off. She was good at what she did, and she knew it. ‘And what about you Sasha? What do you do?’

‘Well, get married I guess,’ she said with a bit of a huff. ‘My father wants to make political connections, so it’s not really up to me. I get it, being connected to the royal family in Egypt is a big deal for him, but it’s really not for me. I just got roped into this, and well, I guess this is my _duty _or something.’ She said, making it very clear that she was not in the slightest bit happy with her supposed duty.

‘Oh Sasha,’ Azu said, a look of genuine sadness on her face, and Sasha couldn’t help but notice how each and every emotion she displayed with such honesty. ‘Aphrodite is the goddess of Love, as I’m sure you know, and well, I don’t think it’s right to be marrying for any reason other than that if I’m being honest with you. I’m sure your father has his reasons,’ she added, ‘but I mean, if it’s not something you’re on board with it’s not right. I just,’ she paused, looking around to make sure they were alone in the corridor. ‘Is there any way I could help you. Being condemned to live a life in an unhappy marriage is a fate I wouldn’t wish on anyone. If, if there’s any way possible I can help you, don’t hesitate to ask. I may be staying here, but I have no loyalty to the man.’

‘Thanks,’ Sasha mumbled, she didn’t know how to respond. Here was a woman she had only just met- and who she was rather more attracted to than she would care to admit- already offering help and support to her. Of course, Sasha wasn’t going to say anything, she had always been the type to handle things herself, and despite the priestess’s good intentions, she doubted Azu would actually be able to help her out. She would keep it in mind though, there was no way she could go through with this marriage, and it was probably a good idea to take all the help she could get, even if she was normally one for working alone. ‘I’ll, um, I’ll bear it in mind.’

‘Good,’ Azu said, a warm smile on her face. ‘Now, I don’t know much about London, perhaps you would like to show me around tomorrow? We could get some lunch while we’re out?’

Sasha flushed a little at that, she knew Azu was just being friendly, but she couldn’t help the way her heart fluttered in her chest. ‘That would be nice,’ she said, eyes fixed on the floor, not meeting Azu’s gaze. ‘This is your room,’ she indicated the door on her right. ‘If you need anything, I can probably help you or whatever. Anyway I’ll, I’ll see you at dinner.’ And she rushed off down the corridor before Azu could get another word in edgeways.

Back in the safety of her room, she slumped on her bed, sighing in despair. This had never happened to her before. Ever. So why now, so out of the blue, was this woman affecting her so much. She had only just met her, and already she was acting like a fool. This was so unlike her. She was Sasha Rackett: not always the best in social situations, but always calm and collected, nothing like that blushing flustering mess she had turned into at the slightest hint of a smile from the other woman.

Fuck. Not only was she getting married for the sake of political arrangements that she didn’t even care about, now she had a massive crush on someone else. Who she had only just met. How had this happened to her? Of all the people in the world, why did it have to be _her_? she put her head down on the bed in despair and tried with very little success not to think too much about it all.

_iii- feet firm on the ground_

After talking everything through with Barrett about the wedding arrangements and being led to his rooms, where his things had been sent in advance, Hamid made his way through the corridors trying to remember the directions he had been given for Sasha’s room. He wanted to have a chat with her about what the situation was going to be, before things got any further. He needed to ensure that his relationship with Zolf wasn’t going to be an issue with her, for it was one of the few things he was hesitant to compromise on. Political marriages with any amount of genuine love in them were rare, he just hoped he and Sasha would be able to come to some kind of understanding so that they could be friends throughout the process, and figure out some kind of arrangement that worked for both of them. Strictly speaking, relations outside of marriage would be strongly discouraged, but having spent his life around the affairs of the crown, Hamid knew that they were far more common than any outsider would be led to believe.

He knocked on the door, and head a voice- presumably Sasha- call from within ‘What do you want?’ He suppressed a smile at this, though she had seemed quiet earlier, she didn’t seem to be quite as timid and meek as her father had led him to believe.

‘It’s Hamid?’ He called back, almost sounding like a question, for he wasn’t quite sure what to say to her. ‘I just was wondering if we could have a talk?’ There was no response, then after a brief moment, the door opened before him, and there she stood, her short hair looking dishevelled as though she had been running her hands through it. He noticed her suit jacket lying on the floor, and her heels discarded alongside them. Clearly, she didn’t feel as comfortable in formal wear as she pretended to.

‘Come in,’ she said, ‘And shut the door behind you. You never know who’s listening in this place.’

He did what she said, and was led to a chair inside the room, while she sat down on the floor cross legged, making herself comfortable.

‘Barrett would be shocked if he could see this now,’ she said with a soft laugh to herself, ‘but hey, if I’m going to be spending the rest of my damn life with you then I guess there’s no need for any false pretences. I always did hate all of the stupid formal stuff, it’s just lies, only socially acceptable ones.’

Well, Hamid rather liked this girl, he reckoned it would be rather easy for them to get along. ‘I guess that’s what I’m here to talk about,’ he said, fidgeting with his hands, watching tiny sparks flicker at his fingertips, small enough to go unnoticed unless one were to look closely at them. ‘In the interest of being honest I guess I should tell you that I’m already in a relationship.’ He watched her face for signs of shock, or betrayal, but he had judged her correctly, and she just gave him a nod. ‘He knows I’m getting married of course,’ though he had not received a response from that letter yet, he was almost certain it would have reached him. ‘But as long as you’re okay with everything, I was wondering if we could keep whatever arrangement we have as just friends. And you can be with whoever you want to be as well, of course. It’s just, well,’ he looked away, ‘I think I love him. If you aren’t okay with that, then tell me now and I’ll find some reason to call off the wedding. I’d rather not be murdered by my father,’ he said with a laugh, ‘but I’m sure I would be able to come up with something. Perhaps-’

‘Hamid, don’t worry about it.’ Sasha said, and upon stopping he realised he had been rambling for quite some time. He tended to do that if no-one stopped him, his mother had always scolded him for not letting anyone get a word in edgeways when they were around the dinner table. ‘We can’t call off the marriage, my father…’ she trailed off and Hamid noticed the look on the face when she said those words, but he knew better than to pry into the affairs of someone he had just met.

‘Just friends then,’ Hamid said with a smile, ‘friends who happen to be married. And who can date whoever the heck they want as long as we keep it quiet.’

‘Yeah,’ Sasha said, a hint of a smile on her face. Hamid hoped that she was reassured that this was all that their arrangement was going to be, she seemed nice enough, a little bit mysterious but he was sure he would get to know her in time. ‘Yeah,’ she repeated, she seemed to have a habit of doing that when she spoke, ‘friends is good. Just, don’t let Barrett find out.’

‘Got it.’ He said, ‘I’m glad we could clear things up a bit, find something that works for both of us. I’ll see you at dinner then I guess?’ And leaving her no time to reply, he turned and left the room.

High Priestess Azu of Aphrodite was in London to help establish her church and to learn from one of the world’s best healers. She was most definitely not here to get a crush on one of the most corrupt politicians in the country’s daughter. Who was getting married.

Azu had always been a romantic, she supposed it was a given based on the goddess she had ended up serving. When she was little she had always been obsessed with that perfect story ending of happily ever after, and though she had matured somewhat since then, and grown to value her relationship with Aphrodite more than any romantic ones in her life, that didn’t mean that she wasn’t the same child at heart when it came to her love life. Lady Sasha was quiet, completely awful in social situations and far above Azu’s place in life. As a high priestess, she had a respectable ranking within the church, but even thinking about a Lady was impossible. She was most likely heir to an enormous fortune- of dirty money, there was no doubt about that part- that Azu couldn’t even begin to imagine the size of, while she came from a tiny mountain village in the middle of Kenya. Her childhood had certainly been comfortable, but there was no mistaking that the amounts of money she and Sasha came from differed vastly.

So she dismissed the idea, even though she was secretly praying for something to happen between the two of them the next day when they explored London alone together. Whilst Azu knew realistically that social divides would get between them, the idealised stance of Aphrodite ignored all of that. Nothing could get in the way of love in Aphrodite’s eyes, and while Azu tried her best to believe that, unfortunately the real world had never quite aligned itself with her views. While she wished it could be true, the world could be a harsh place at times, and over the years she had had to learn that her optimistic view of the world hadn’t always been for the best. Still, she had the goddess of love on her side, she could certainly hope that maybe this could be an exception to that.

_… if you still want to stay together, and I completely understand if you don’t, this is a massive thing to pull out of nowhere on you, I’ve enclosed the address of Barrett Rackett’s house in London, where I will be staying for the foreseeable future. Please come and visit when you can, I’m sure I can pass you off as a friend or an old acquaintance. Or sneak out, god knows I’ve been doing that for years._

_Anyway, I love you, and I really hope I can see you soon. I’m ever so sorry about all this mess,_

_Yours, Hamid Saleh Haroun Al-Tahan x_

Zolf let out a small chuckle at the elegant flourish at the end of the letter, the two of them had been dating for a while now, and had moved past such formalities, yet at the end of every letter Hamid sent him there was always that large looping signature. As over the top as it was, Zolf had to admit it made him smile, it was such an utterly _Hamid _thing to do, he couldn’t imagine it any other way.

He had been caught off guard by the news of Hamid’s engagement, but honestly, he wasn’t particularly surprised. Hamid had seemed so concerned about the idea that Zolf might not want to be with him anymore, but he seemed to forget that Zolf had significantly more life experience than he did. Zolf had never seen this ending any other way, and he was alright with that, Hamid getting married had always been something inevitable. As much as he liked to pretend that maybe one day they could run off together-Hamid doing the adventuring he had always dreamed of and finally freeing himself from all the responsibilities that came with his family- he was a prince. Zolf was a realist, of course those fantasies would never work out. As long as whoever he was going to marry would be alright with it, he was okay with seeing Hamid whenever he came to London. He wanted, he so desperately wanted, to be able to have a life with him, but he knew that couldn’t happen. He had seen too many things fail in his life, had seen the deaths of too many people that he had cared about in his life, to have be under any illusions about the harsh reality of the world. But everything felt softer when he had Hamid with him, and so he made a note to look for any work that would send him to London so that he could visit him.

_iv- to my surprise, we found my words_

If Azu had thought Sasha was unconventional for a Lady when she had met her the previous day, well that was nothing compared to now. The two of them were currently sneaking through tunnels below the house: Sasha in her element, Azu stooping to ensure her head didn’t hit the ceiling and frantically checking the time every few seconds on a watch she wore on a chain around her neck.

About half an hour earlier, after breakfast, Sasha had asked her if she was ready to see some of London, and then told her that she should probably wear something a bit more practical and inconspicuous than her pink robes. Azu didn’t really do _subtle_, but her long purple skirt would do, with one of Sasha’s dark grey cloaks draped over her. It was a little on the short side, but it seemed that when Sasha got free rein over her outfits, she went for baggier items, meaning it didn’t fit Azu _too _badly. She had been confused about Sasha’s instructions, and slightly concerned when Sasha had started leading her down the stairs to the basement, but Sasha had explained that this way she wouldn’t have to deal with her father insisting on her taking a guard with her.

‘I’m perfectly good with a knife, I can defend myself,’ she was explaining as they walked through the tunnel, which was dark, wet, and making Azu remember just how claustrophobic she was. ‘But we all know it’s not about actually keeping me safe. It’s so he can keep watch on me when I’m out. It gets suffocating sometimes, so well,’ she gestured around herself to the tunnels, ‘it pays to have an escape route at times.’

‘That sounds,’ Azu paused, unsure how to phrase it. She had been told far too many times over the course of her life that she was too blunt, too harsh in her phrasing, it was never an intentional thing, she hated hurting people even if she didn’t mean to and she always felt so bad about it. It was just one of those things where she didn’t realise what she had just said until she saw the look on the other person’s face. It was rather un-Aphrodite like of her, but she was working on it, and she was sure her goddess wouldn’t mind so long as she was trying her best. ‘That sounds tough,’ she settled on. She got the impression that Sasha didn’t get along with her father that well, that none of this was her choice, but she wasn’t able to do anything otherwise. She was of course making assumptions, and she didn’t want to bring it up to her, but she felt bad for her.

‘It’s life I guess,’ she said, ‘you might want to hitch up your skirts a bit, we’re getting into some water here.’ It struck Azu how remarkably down to earth and just straight up un-ladylike Sasha was. None of the Lords or Ladies Azu had ever met before had ever been like Sasha Rackett, and she suspected Sasha was very much unique in this. All of the other nobility she had met wouldn’t be caught dead in a tiny, filthy tunnel sneaking into the city. She noticed that as the water crept around her boots, that she was having to duck her head more and more as the roof of the tunnel sloped down towards her. She had been doing her best to ignore the sensation that she was being closed in, trapped in the ground, but this was too small, to tight. She couldn’t breathe and she felt her chest grow tight, her breaths quickening to the point where her harsh gasps echoed against the damp walls of the tunnel. She couldn’t focus and her head was spinning. All she could think about was the walls closing in on her, the earth surrounding her on all sides with no way out. And then through all the racing thoughts came a voice and a steady touch on her shoulder guiding her to a dry rock she could sit on.

‘Try and match my breathing,’ Sasha said, a hand on Azu’s own. The sensation grounded her, helping her focus on Sasha in front of her. She counted and Azu tried her best to copy her, though she still felt incredibly shaky and could feel the tears sliding down her face.

Once her breathing had steadied to a relatively normal rate, she was once again able to focus on Sasha, her hand still clutching Azu’s hand tightly.

‘Are you alright?’ She asked, ‘I don’t think I’ve ever seen that happen before but I’m pretty sure you just had a panic attack or something. Hope I did okay with helping, I didn’t really know what I could do. You just went all shaky and quiet, y’know?’ She said with a shrug, and Azu could hug her for being so matter of fact about it all.

‘It, it happens sometimes. I’m not great with small spaces actually. I thought this one would be alright, but I think I overestimated my ability to cope if I’m being honest.’

‘Well, if it makes things better, I think we only have a couple of minutes walking left and it gets lighter as we approach the surface. I should have realised that not everyone necessarily likes tunnels, sorry for being a bit of a shitty host.’

‘I’m sorry for being a shitty guest then,’ Azu said with a shaky smile. She still wasn’t feeling great but having the weight of Sasha’s hand in her own was comforting, and she just made sure to keep focusing on the fact that it was nearly over. She was so nearly out, and she just had to get through this and then she could enjoy her day with Sasha.

‘Hey, you’ve done nothing wrong,’ Sasha said, giving her hand a slight squeeze, which sent a sudden rush of warmth throughout Azu’s entire body. ‘Ah, here we are,’ she said, as they came upon a set of crumbling stairs that led up to where Azu could see the daylight.

At the top of the stairs was a back alley, and from the street the stairs down looked as though they led into a network of tunnels sprawling below the city. Azu took several deep breaths as her eyes adjusted to the bright daylight, she liked being able to see the sun again and feel the breeze around her. she just hoped they weren’t going to have to go back through the tunnels afterwards again.

‘Now,’ Sasha said, a twinkle in her eyes as she looked around at the city she loved so much, ‘let me give you the grand tour.’

_v- you said, ‘I will listen, tell it all’_

Hamid was shaking as he clutched the letter in his hands, reading it over and over again, barely able to believe the contents of it were true and not just some strange trick his mind was playing on him or some cruel joke pulled by someone who had managed to figure out too much.

_Dear Hamid,_

The letter began the same way they always did, in Zolf’s messy handwriting, a product of having left school at age 14.

_I would never feel betrayed by this news of your engagement. I know how families can be, especially one such as yours. And if you wish to go ahead with this, know that nothing will change between the two of us unless you want it to. But although I knew nothing would ever work out between the two of us, this seems so final and I wish there was something we could do to change it. I don’t know how you would pull it off, and I know you wouldn’t want to do this to your family. But we could run away Hamid, just the two of us. Off to America where we could travel together, and you could be open about your magic- no one would know who you are over there. I understand that you don’t want to do this Hamid, but think about it, this is your life, not your father’s. And I think you should do whatever you want to do with it._

_Anyway, I’m in England at the moment, so how about we meet in London in a few days time and you can give me your response,_

_Yours, as always, Zolf_

Hamid could imagine it now, having a life with Zolf, just the two of them travelling around the wild continent of America, him being able to hone his magic, and no pressure from his family ever again. It was right in front of him, he could picture that life so perfectly. But there was no way he could say yes. There was no way he could do that to his family, as much as he longed to. He would be doing what he wanted, but he knew it would be taken as a betrayal and he loved them all far too much to do that to them. No, he had to follow their plans for him, he was a prince, and that meant that he didn’t the luxury of choice about things like this. It was his duty, and it wasn’t something he could just abandon, no matter how much he longed to.

Still, it was good to know that he could continue seeing Zolf, especially now he had checked up with Sasha. He wondered how Sasha and Zolf would get along, they were both the silent sullen type. He reckoned they would just end up not saying much to each other, sharing some kind of companionable silence. Neither of them were anything like him. He couldn’t shut up most of the time, always babbling on about something or other, usually to do with whatever cool magic thing he had figured out most recently. Luckily Zolf didn’t seem to mind, he hadn’t shut up for even a moment when he had first met him, he had so many questions about what his life as an adventurer was like which Zolf had fortunately been willing to answer. Hamid couldn’t help but cringe a little whenever he remembered their first meeting, how on earth had Zolf wanted to see him again after he had been _so _annoying. At least he had seen what was pretty much the worst of him and hadn’t been put off.

He scrawled out a quick message in response, agreeing to meet him, and hoping he wouldn’t get asked too many questions about where he was going and what he was doing from Barrett. He didn’t want to let him down, but Zolf had to know that there was no way he was going to be able to accept his offer. Still, he didn’t put that in the letter, better to tell him in person.

Once he was done with that, he started playing with his magic, conjuring sparks from his fingertips. Since the first time when it had been completely out of the blue, he had improved at controlling it. He still didn’t really know why he had magic or where it came from- he wasn’t religious and he certainly wasn’t learning spells from books, the way those wizards at universities did- but he didn’t really care what the source of his magic was, it didn’t feel like it was coming from anywhere else apart from him. Deep inside him, as though it had been there his entire life, running through his veins, just waiting for the perfect moment to make itself known to him.

He had been learning to control the intensity of the flames he conjured, making them roar up before settling down, and letting them branch out into patterns and shapes. There had been one or two occasions back home when his fire had become a little more out of control than he had realised, and he had to pass off the incident as a dropped candle, though anyone who looked closely would see that the scorch marks were far too intense for that. Luckily in a busy palace, and a with a father who spent more time thinking about his kingdom than his son, no one really paid any attention to the prince knocking over candles more than was exactly normal- even for someone as clumsy as he pretended to be.

But he had more control over the flames now, and though he kept some water close at hand just in case he should need it, he had power over them, feeling the warmth over his face and hands as he made them climb higher and higher. He wondered what on earth his father would do if he ever found out about Hamid’s talents. Most likely send him off to become a wizard- even though Hamid knew that wasn’t how his magic worked- and then make him use his powers for the good of the kingdom. Call him selfish, but he didn’t want to spend the rest of his life being used to serve his country. He had already been born into a position that made him have to do that, so if he had the option to keep this to himself, then of course he was going to. He was a person, not a political tool, even though that was what he seemed to have been reduced to lately, much to his annoyance.

He collapsed backwards onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling, flames extinguished from his hands. Doing magic always took it out of him. It came naturally to him, but that didn’t mean it didn’t exhaust him. He drifted off, to slightly more hopeful thoughts about him and Zolf, hoping that he would wake up in time for lunch.

_vi- when you’re finished, we’ll talk more_

Sasha knew the streets of London like the back of her hand. Of course, that included all the shady back alleys just as much as it did the main streets filled with respectable shops and cute cafes. Though she was a _lady _now, she hadn’t always been. She had grown up on these very streets, before the crime boss Barrett Rackett had decided that he wanted to make a move into the only marginally more respectable field of politics and had decided that a daughter was just what he needed to help his image. She had already been working for him, though that work had involved rather a lot more knives and hiding of bodies than this new life did. She despised him, of course she did, and wanted nothing more than to leave one day, but there was nowhere she could go. If she tried, she would be killed, but even if she could it wasn’t like she had any family waiting for her. As much as she hated this life at least she had a roof over her head and food on the table. She just had to bide her time, convince her new fiancé to leave London, and then she would finally have some degree of freedom from him.

It was safe to say that her tour of London's city streets wasn’t exactly what one would call _conventional. _She showed Azu all her favourite places- both legal and less so- and while she took it all in her stride, it was safe to say that she clearly hadn’t been expecting this from Sasha. Azu was chatty, which was good, as conversations involving Sasha tended to be pretty sparse otherwise. She told Sasha all about her village back in Kenya, and the training she had been doing back in Cairo. Her eyes lit up when she started talking about Aaron Fairhands and Sasha could tell she could barely contain her excitement to be here in London. None of the healing stuff Azu was talking about really made much sense to her, but she didn’t really care. Watching Azu talk about something she was so passionate and excited about made her happy too, even if she was reminded of how there was nothing in her life that she loved that much. Except daggers, but she didn’t think they really counted as a passion, especially not while she was playing this role of ‘Lady’ Sasha.

‘I still can’t believe he’s agreed to work with _me_, like what on earth have I done. I’m just a priestess, the only thing I’m really good at is being pretty dedicated to Aphrodite and stuff. But he’s picked me! He never works with anyone Sasha, but he’s chosen _me_!’

‘Sounds like you really like him huh?’ she said, for the way Azu was flushing certainly did suggest that this admiration might be for more than one reason.

‘What?’ She looked up confused, before she caught the look on Sasha’s face. ‘Not like that, I don't usually like men like _that_, and especially not him. Women tend to be more my thing.'

And with that confirmation Sasha felt a strange wave of warmth wash over her, before settling in her stomach like a knot.

‘Same I think,’ she muttered in response. ‘Women. Men as well but women. Yes.’ It wasn’t something she had really talked about before; she didn’t really have many crushes, but they hadn’t ever been on one gender in particular. It was nice to know that she had a chance with Azu. Well, aside from the fact she was getting married and that Azu was far, far too good for her anyway. She had a _hypothetical _chance now, a very very hypothetical one.

‘I admire him of course; his work is absolutely incredible. And even I can’t deny he’s attractive, but as I said, he's never really been my type.' And after that she was off on another tangent about healing techniques.

They wandered the city for several hours, Sasha pointing out places every now and then, but mainly they just chatted and explored. Azu hadn't asked why Sasha knew about all of the shadier places in the city, and Sasha was pleased. She was very awkward and bad at lying, and it really wasn't something she wanted to explain to Azu. Luckily, they found plenty of other things to talk about.

'So, did you always know you wanted to become a priestess, or did you get like some funny vision that compelled you to do it?' Sasha asked her, and upon hearing Azu's laughter at the second part of her question she said, 'What? That's how it works in stories isn't it?'

'Well, I suppose so,' Azu said as the two made their way down a side street where Sasha had said she knew a café. 'Maybe other gods do that but I don't think Aphrodite. I don't think she would want anyone to feel like they _had_ to serve her. And I don't think she would want to make anyone. Maybe one of the gods like Zeus might I suppose, but Aphrodite has always been kinder to her followers than most.'

Sasha had to admit, that the more she heard about Aphrodite the more she seemed like a pretty nice god. She had never been one for religion, a life like hers didn't seem to fit within the guidelines of any of the churches so why bother. But she reckoned if she had to pick a god, Aphrodite sounded like a pretty decent one to go for.

'I mean, I knew I always wanted to help people. My village was too small for any church healers, but we had a traditional doctor who would take care of any incident that wasn’t extreme enough to need to be taken to the town nearby. I spent a lot of time helping out with them, and for a while I wanted to become their apprentice. But as much as I loved my village, I wanted to travel. I had always loved visiting the church of Aphrodite when we visited the nearby town, so it was the perfect fit I guess. I started my training in the town and just kinda kept going until I became a priestess.'

'And now you're here in London.' The two of them rounded the corner to the cafe and Sasha gestured to the sign above the door, slightly battered and faded but still unmistakably bearing the words: The Soggy Admiral. 'This is it, one of the best places to eat around here,' she announced with a grin at Azu's slightly disbelieving face. 'Don't knock it till you've tried it; it might look a little worse for wear but there's nowhere in the world you'll find a better eel quiche.' If anything, Azu looked even more unsure at that, but opened the door anyway, a bell above it tinkling to signal their entry to the shop.

'Sasha!' A man ran over to the pair of them, he was small, but what he lacked in height he made up for in enthusiasm. He looked at Azu, 'M' name's Grag, and you are?' he reached out a hand for her to take, the height difference between them meaning she had to bend down a little to shake it.

'I'm Azu,' she said, with that warm voice of hers sending a shiver down Sasha's spine, which she quickly shrugged off.

'Well if you two want to take a seat over there, I'll be happy to send you an eel quiche on the house.'

'Do you serve anything over than eel quiche?' Azu asked, looking a little put off by the concept.

'Well of course we do, what kind of establishment do you take us for? I mean eel quiche is our signature dish, but we also do eel pie, eels on toast,’ he continued on listing as many foods with eels as he could think of and Sasha stifled a laugh at the look on Azu’s face. She was trying to appear polite and interested, but Sasha could tell that the thought of so many eels was making her queasy. When it became too much to bear and she burst into laughter, Azu turned to look at her, surprise splashed across her features.

‘He’s joking Azu!’ She said, still clutching her chest with laughter. ‘You should have seen your face! They do other things too. Cakes and sandwiches and quiche with things other than eels. Eel quiche is the best thing they sell if you ask me, but my no means is it the only thing they do!’

‘Oh, that’s good then,’ she said with a smile so genuine that Sasha almost felt bad for making fun of her. She worried a little for Azu staying with her and the rest of her ‘family,’ she seemed so sweet and sincere that she might get herself into a fair amount of trouble if she wasn’t cautious of the shady happenings running beneath the surface. Sasha knew this world; she had been navigating it with ease her whole life and had learned pretty quickly that you had to keep on your toes when you were around people that dangerous on a daily basis. Anything you said or did could be used against you, and the type of honesty Azu wore with pride was seen as nothing that a weakness that could be exploited.

Being closed off and unemotional wouldn’t suit Azu at all, Sasha reckoned. Aphrodite was the goddess of love and some other things she couldn’t remember, so she was pretty sure strong emotions and empathy were on the list of sign up requirements. Azu’s emotions seemed to take over her whole body, she was the kind of person who you could tell was happy just by the spring in her step when she walked. Sasha had always been taught to guard that kind of thing, her emotions were just as strong, but confined to inside her own head where she was careful that they could not be twisted and used against her as had happened to her a few times too many before she had learnt that lesson.

The two of them found a table, Sasha with her eel quiche, which she kept insisting to Azu was delicious. The look on Azu’s face suggested that Sasha had just told her that the sky was green, and she almost recoiled when Sasha offered her a bit to have a taste. Instead she had an apple tart, which Sasha had to admit looked nice. She had never tried anything other than the quiche here, but maybe she would have to start.

‘Do you want a bit?’ Azu asked her, when she saw Sasha eyeing it up.

‘Yeah it looks nice, still sure you don’t want to trade?’ she teased with a grin. Azu shook her head vehemently, but her own matching grin was taking over her face.

‘I don’t know how you can eat that Sasha,’ she said, sliding her apple tart over the table so Sasha could take a piece from it. ‘Cold eels? They’re not even nice hot, I can’t imagine that having them cold and slimy and in a quiche could do anything to improve the experience?’

‘Okay, so I’ll agree the texture’s a little yuck, but how can you not like the taste of eels? So fishy and salty…’

_vii- a promise of hope, is enough to feel free_

_Zolf Smith had not intended to fall in love with one of the younger princes of Egypt. He had come to deal with a zombie outbreak that the cult of Poseidon had assigned him to. He had planned to sail in, kill some zombies, check in with the local cult of Poseidon- they seemed to like it when he made an effort to actually be involved in the religion rather than running off around the world doing his own thing- and then head off back to Paris, where he had been staying for the past month or so._

_He hadn’t planned on finding an actual prince fleeing from attackers in the market square. He had clearly attempted to disguise himself, but Zolf could see how flimsy his effort had been. He had fought off the attackers, startling them with water in their faces and then running as fast as he could with the Prince- which was faster than it used to be with his recent gift of legs made from water - but neither he nor the prince could run particularly fast. In the end they found themselves in a small abandoned building, the door bolted shut, Zolf peering out of the window every couple of seconds to make sure the Prince’s attackers weren’t about to find them._

_‘You okay there?’ He asked, ‘They didn’t hurt you, did they?’_

_‘N-no,’ responded the young prince, and as Zolf looked over, he could see he was trembling- most likely the shock and the adrenaline from what he had just experienced. He was fiddling with his fingers, tapping them furiously and frantically against his legs, with sparks flying from the tips. Magic, well, that was something Zolf hadn’t been expecting, but it was something he was going to have to deal with later. He slipped his driftwood dolphin off from around his neck and passed it to the prince so that he had something to do with his hands. He began turning it over and over in his fingers, their movement not stopping, but it now had a direction to it now rather than the previous distressed tapping. Zolf hoped it was helping to calm him somewhat._

_The sparks were still coming out of his fingers, somewhat less frequently now, which Zolf was relieved about. The dolphin was wooden, but as his holy symbol he was sure it would be safe. Poseidon being the god of water, there was no risk of the dolphin catching on fire, which was good as looking down at the prince’s leg where he had been twisting the fabric of his trousers in his fingers, he could spot scorch marks from the sparks._

_‘I’m Zolf, cleric of Poseidon. Well nominally a cleric anyway, at this point they just kinda send me around the world to wherever they have some kind of issue they need dealing with. But you’re safe, we’ll just hide out here for a little longer and then I’ll make sure you get home alright. You must be pretty shaken up; shouldn’t you have had some kind of guards with you?’_

_‘I mean I did, but,’ he gestured to his hastily put together disguise, ‘I gave them the slip. You have no idea how tedious it is to have your every move watched by someone, not able to do anything without being scrutinised. So I guess this is my fault for running off, but anyway,’ he stuck out his hand to shake Zolf’s, ‘Hamid Saleh Haroun Al-Tahan of Egypt, but I’m sure you knew that already.’_

_He said it with such confidence and assuredness, such a contrast from the previous nervous stutter, that Zolf didn’t really want to tell him otherwise, so he just gave a short nod and shook Hamid’s hand. He seemed to be in his early twenties, not too much younger than Zolf, but from the way he carried himself and the way he spoke, Zolf knew there was no way that he had any experience of life other than the palace he had grown up in. It wasn’t a bad thing to have had a safe childhood, though his was most likely also full of decadence to the point of extremity, but he had an air of naivety about him that suggested that he had never really experienced the harsh realities of the world._

_‘If you didn’t tell anyone about the,’ he gestured with his hands, and another spark flew out of one of his fingers before landing on the ground and fading out, ‘that would be much appreciated. I don’t really know why this is happening to me, but the moment anyone finds out they’ll cart me off to wizard school or something. I can barely cope with the school I have to do at home, there’s no way I would make it out of there alive,’ he said it all in one breath with a brief chuckle after, and Zolf had to smile, if only out of incredulity about just how much Hamid seemed to be oversharing to a stranger he had met for the first time that day. Seemed like a stuffy upbringing really didn’t teach you all that many people skills outside of fancy dinner time conversations and the ‘proper etiquette’ for social gatherings._

_While they waited for a while to make sure the attackers were well and off their trail, Zolf indulged Hamid, letting him ramble on. He talked at length about his sister, who was an opera singer. His parents had been reluctant at first to let her pursue that path as it wasn’t ‘proper’ but she had such an amazing voice they were eventually persuaded that it would be a waste not to._

_‘I love singing too,’ he told Zolf with a grin on his face, ‘Aziza says I’m not very good at it though. _‘Oh, you can’t sing in tune Hamid,’ _and _‘At least try and count the rests instead of coming in through the middle of the violin solo,’ _so now I just sing really loudly in my room when I’m alone.’_

_Zolf laughed at that; it was a bit strange to imagine this prince of all people singing out of key at the top of his lungs but looking at Hamid he found he could picture it perfectly._

_The topic of conversation eventually switched to Hamid’s childhood dream of being an adventurer, of travelling the world and slaying monsters, before his father had told him that he had a duty to his country as a prince and he couldn’t just ‘go gallivanting off on an adventure because he felt like it.’_

_‘I mean that’s basically what I did, and it worked out fine for me?’ Zolf said with a laugh, for that was all his job really consisted of when it came down to it._

_‘Yeah but your dad isn’t in charge of the whole damn country, is he?’ Hamid said, still light-hearted, but Zolf could hear the undercurrent of bitterness beneath his jovial tone._

_‘My dad’s dead actually.’ He said, for though he felt bad for Hamid, he still had no idea how lucky he had it in life. He had never had to live on the streets with his older brother trying desperately to get enough money to even eat. He had never had to sign up to the navy at age 14, with false identification papers, even though he had been as baby faced as a 12 year old- they didn’t care though, of course they didn’t- as the only way to get something out of life. He had never had to lose both legs and go through a crisis of faith all at the same time, shortly after losing his brother. Well, that last one was rather oddly specific, but still. He understood where Hamid was coming from, of course he did, who would want to be cooped up in a castle their whole life, but he would choose that option any day if it meant his family were still alive._

_He didn’t say any of this to Hamid of course, despite his glaring privilege, he seemed like a nice enough person, and even Zolf knew that saying things like that were a quick way to make enemies. He didn’t want to get on the wrong side of someone so powerful. The church had forgiven him for a lot in the past, but he doubted they would be at all happy if he managed to provoke one of the Princes of Egypt._

_‘Oh, uh, I’m sorry,’ Hamid said, looking down at his hands where they had gone back to fidgeting with the driftwood dolphin. Zolf could tell that Hamid had no idea how to react to what he had just said, but he decided to brush it off. Given what had just happened to him he didn’t really need Zolf making things worse._

_‘I think it’s probably safe to leave now, I should walk you back just in case though. I know you can probably defend yourself with the magic- or whatever those sparks are- but I think we can both agree that word shouldn’t be getting out about that any time soon.’_

_Hamid flashed a relieved smile at that. ‘Okay then, is there anything I can do for you? To repay you? I mean, I can’t do much because my father isn’t going to be happy with me when I get back and he finds out I ran off without any guards, but I might be able to arrange something for you.’_

_‘Lunch maybe?’ Zolf said, the words just kind of tumbling out of his mouth and by the time he realised what he had just said he was blushing furiously but unable to take them back._

_‘Are you, a good and holy man Zolf Smith, suggesting that I give my guards the slip again after what just happened just so you can have lunch with me?’ Zolf ducked his head at that, it had been a stupid idea, he had no filter at times, and he wished he didn’t have to look Hamid in the eyes and apologise for being so inappropriate. But when he looked down at Hamid’s face, there was a twinkle in his eyes and a smile on his face, ‘Because you know, I think I might do just that. I mean, I’ll have you with me, what harm could I possibly come to?’_

_Then he winked at Zolf. And god, the way Zolf’s heart fluttered at that was _not _good._

_‘Okay then, how does Wednesday sound, in the market at midday?’_

_‘It’s a date.’ Hamid told him, and Zolf sure was glad that they were close enough to the palace that he only had to walk a few minutes more after that, for if his face had been red before, it was nothing compared to the deep scarlet he was now flushing._

_And as Hamid walked away, no doubt trying to come up with excuses to tell his father about this whole incident, Zolf allowed himself to let a wide grin spread across his face. He had a date. He hadn’t dated anyone in a while, not since his brother had died. But here he was, he had a date with an unbelievably cute guy, who was maybe slightly naïve and privileged, but someone who he desperately wanted to know better. So, he walked back to the temple with a smile on his face, telling everyone who asked why their cleric- who was normally so grumpy- looked ecstatic that he had a date._

_vii- stood hand in hand_

It was two weeks later, and the wedding was fast approaching. Sasha was steadily growing more and more frustrated with Hamid, for though he insisted that he was just as annoyed about the whole marriage thing as she was, that certainly didn’t stop him from having very strong opinions about what flowers they should decorate with, and what guests should sit where. She thought that staying out of it and letting him have his way would make the whole ordeal easier for her, but he still seemed to want her input on things, and so would approach her throughout the day when she was spending time alone or with Azu, pestering her about whether she would prefer roses or dahlias. She didn’t even know what a dahlia was, how was she meant to have an opinion on this?

She found herself sneaking out of the house increasingly often, which was saying something given the frequency at which she did it normally anyway. She had started visiting the church of Aphrodite where she could normally find Azu during the day. It was a tiny building, one Sasha hadn’t even known existed before she had asked Azu where it was located, but it was a very pretty one. It was all high-ceilinged rooms with big windows decorated with white marble statues. She sometimes used the excuse that she had to discuss the wedding arrangements with Azu, which was somewhat true- she was to be the priestess who would officiate the marriage- aside from the fact that Azu’s involvement in the wedding was minimal. Given the amount of time Sasha was spending with her the details had been sorted within the first couple of meetings- not that Hamid needed to know that.

Sasha didn’t know what the relationship between the two of them was becoming, but with the long looks and touches she seemed to be sharing with Azu, she reckoned it was safe to say it was crossing the boundary from platonic to something else entirely. She wasn’t particularly well versed in romantic relationships, but she knew enough to realise that spending the afternoon with her head leaned against Azu’s chest as she ran her fingers through Sasha’s hair- neither of them talking, Azu just singing quietly under her breath as they enjoyed each other’s company- was definitely not just close friendship. She had never really been one for physical intimacy, given her upbringing she was always watching her back, and someone getting a little too close to her always had felt more like a threat than a comfort. But somehow Azu was different. There was a certain calming presence to her, that made Sasha feel like her arms were the safest place to be- a thought that had never crossed her mind before- and somehow, she felt not only comfortable, but happy, being close to her.

It was on one of those afternoons- Azu sitting at a desk reading over her notes from the latest spells Aaron Fairhands had been teaching her, with Sasha curled into her side like a cat, fiddling with some ball bearings she had in her pocket- when the subject of their relationship had finally been breached.

‘Sasha,’ Azu began, seeming slightly cautious of the topic of conversation that she was about to broach. ‘I’ve been wondering, talking to Aphrodite a little bit I suppose, about what you want this to be.’ The moment the words left her mouth, Azu wished she hadn’t phrased it like that. Although she was working on it, she was still rather blunt at times. ‘It’s just, I know you’re getting married and stuff, but, well, I can’t help but wonder if perhaps- ‘

And she didn’t get the chance to finish her sentence, for she was cut off by Sasha reaching up and kissing her.

Well, that answered her question she supposed.

‘Sorry for doing that, but I guess that’s what I want us to be,’ Sasha said with a grin across her face, perhaps the most confident and pleased that Azu had ever seen her. ‘I mean Hamid’s got a boyfriend on the side apparently, so I don’t see why I can’t have a girlfriend.’

‘Girlfriend?’ Azu asked, her brain short circuiting. She was a priestess of Aphrodite, she was meant to be the one who was good at this whole romance and relationships thing, yet here she was, at a loss for words after having just been kissed by a strange Lady who seemed to spend more time in the underside of the city than at balls and banquets. And she was surprisingly alright with that. She didn’t need words to express how she felt about Sasha; they could sort out whatever the two of them were later. For now, all she needed to do was to lean back in, and press Sasha’s lips against her own.

When Sasha got back from visiting Azu, which Hamid had realised by now had almost nothing to do with their wedding preparations- but at least it helped to keep her out of the way of disastrous decisions- she was suspiciously happy. Which would mean one of two things, either she had been given new knives- he had learned a week ago that she had a collection that she was very proud of, and always had a couple on her person, he didn’t know quite know what to make of that information, but he did now think twice before saying something that might piss her off- or that she had finally gotten together with Azu.

The two of them had been head over heels from day one, and it had been painfully obvious to everyone- including Hamid- to see. Yet they had been entirely oblivious to the fact that the attraction was shared. They seemed to have _finally_ figured it out. They took their damn time, especially considering that Azu was the priestess of the goddess of _romance_ of all things.

‘How was Azu?’ He asked, with a slight smirk on his face, and Sasha’s face immediately warmed a little. She wasn’t one for showing her emotions much. Except for when it came to a certain priestess, and Hamid knew his suspicions were correct.

‘She was, she was fine,’ Sasha stuttered, her gaze fixed firmly to the floor. ‘Might take you up on that offer. Of having someone on the side I mean.’ She blurted out, ‘Azu, I, I think we’re girlfriends now.’ She still resolutely refused to meet Hamid’s eyes, but when she said the word girlfriends he could see the small smile that flashed across her face.

‘You have to tell me everything!’ he said excitedly, Sasha wasn’t one for open conversations, but this was too good, he had to know the details.

‘Fine, if you must.’ She said begrudgingly, striding down the corridor back to her room, leaving Hamid to run behind her in an attempt to catch up. His attempt was sprinkled with questions and occasional complaints that she ought to slow down, that it wasn’t fair if her legs were so much longer than his.

_ix- you saw through me all this time_

For as long as Sasha could remember, Barrett Rackett had been a very shady man. This had been true when he ran street gangs, and this was still true when he got himself into the dark underbelly of politics in London. Sasha had learned never to interrupt his business meetings, she had made that mistake once as a child, and it had resulted in a scar across her cheekbone that she still had to this day.

She may have taken the lesson to never interrupt seriously, but over the years she had grown stealthier and sneakier. She didn’t_ interrupt _the meetings; however, she did spy on them all. One day, when she got out of there, she would have all the evidence that she would need to get Barrett arrested once and for all. That was, if she could find any cops in London that weren’t under his thumb; something she had learned by spying on the meetings, many of them were taking bribes from Barrett, and those who weren’t were taking bribes from other gangs. Nothing in this damn city was truly free from corruption.

It was during some of this spying when she discovered the truth of her marriage. She had known from the beginning that the sole purpose of it was to allow Barrett to gain more political power, but it had turned out that was just the beginning of his plans.

Her heart beat faster and faster from her place up in the rafters of the abandoned warehouse he used to host his meetings as he and his associates went over their plan.

‘-after a month or so I think would be the best time.’ One of them was saying. She couldn’t make out any features, but they had a London accent and a low voice, which sent shivers down her spine for reasons she couldn’t place.

‘Shouldn’t we wait longer? I know they’ll be married, but I think it would be better for her to build up some support with the royal family in Cairo, otherwise they might step in and ruin everything.’

She didn’t know what they were waiting for, she tried to keep her breathing steady, they couldn’t find her here or she’d be dead. Well, maybe not _dead_ dead if they needed her for whatever plan they were discussing, but she would be as good as dead after Barrett had finished with her.

‘I agree,’ That was Barrett’s voice, ‘We should wait a month or so before we carry out the assassination. He is a prince after all, it’s going to be very thoroughly investigated and we need as much suspicion off of us as possible.’

Sasha froze upon hearing those words. She had to leave, now. She needed to tell Hamid, and they had to go. Anywhere. Anywhere at all that wasn’t here. They were going to kill him, maybe in a few months time, but they had to leave right now. Find somewhere to hide.

Her brain was in overdrive as she ran through all the possibilities of what she could possibly do. How could she get out of here? She was surrounded, but she couldn’t wait out the meeting, she had to find Hamid and now. Doing the only thing she could think of, she climbed further up into the rafters. She knew there were skylights providing some dim light to the whole place, and if she was quiet enough, she might just be able to open one and clamber out provided she timed it just right. It involved some scrambling to get up there, but Sasha had never really been one for safety in her pursuits. She nearly slipped, and glanced down to make sure no one had heard her slight thud as she scrambled to keep her footing. But they all seemed pretty occupied in their plan. They had moved on to discussing various types of poison that could make the assassination seem like an accident. Their conversation made her feel sick to the stomach. She had known Barrett was bad, of course she had, but to set her up to marry someone and then murder him a few months later. She wondered if he had been planning on telling her about this, hoping for her obedience and support. Well, she would be obedient no longer. She was going to get out of here, and she would be damned if she wasn’t taking Azu and Hamid with her. She didn’t think Azu was in immediate danger the same way as Hamid was, but with this plot in place, there was no way she was taking chances on Azu’s life. Maybe Azu could find somewhere else to stay in London, perhaps the church would house her, for Sasha knew how devastated she would be if she had to stop her training under Aaron Fairhands. 

She finally reached the skylight, which was so old and filthy that she was amazed any light could get through. It seemed openable, which was a relief, but it also looked like it hadn’t been touched in years and might make creaking noises the moment she set fingers upon it. Taking in a deep breath, she reached out and began to fiddle with the latch, making sure her movements were as minute and as quiet as possible so as not to be heard by those down below. It wasn’t opening. The hinges seemed rusty, and it seemed like it was stuck. She pushed on it harder, trying to increase the pressure on it gently without shoving it so hard it would break- as it certainly seemed fragile enough to crack under too much pressure. 

Finally, the window opened up, with an alarming creaking noise. She looked down below her, where Barrett had stopped mid-sentence and was now looking around for the source of the noise he had just heard. She prayed, to Aphrodite- a god she had never worshipped, but she figured that if she was watching out for Azu, then maybe she might have something of a soft spot for Sasha, being the goddess of love and all- that they wouldn’t spot her, and got on with clambering out of the window. She was good at moving quietly, and she figured at this point it was probably her first priority to make sure she got out the damn building as quickly as she could. 

She scrambled out onto the roof, and if this had been any other moment in time she might have stopped to appreciate the sunset over London that was bathing the city in a gorgeous glow of orange. But she didn’t have time for that. She knelt down and closed the window again, and thankfully it didn’t creak this time around, as she had been fearing it might.

The hard part out of the way, she climbed down the side of the building- something she could do almost as easily as breathing at this point- and she began to run. Barrett held his meetings far away from his house, most likely to avoid any notice of his suspicious guests, which meant she had a long way to get back. But she had grown up on these streets. She knew all the secret tunnels- including the ones filled with sewer water- and back alleyways. So she sprinted, the fastest route she knew, even if it did get her clothes absolutely filthy.

Her lungs hurt as she gasped for breath, for she wasn’t a runner. She was used to fights and scrambles, but those normally involved only quick sprints. She had been running for nearly twenty minutes at this point, but she knew she was almost back. She kept going despite the pain in her chest, it didn’t matter when Hamid’s life was at stake. She had to keep running. Just keep running. 

_x- I didn't know how _

Hamid had spent the morning fretting about what he was going to wear to meet Zolf, and now that the time had come to get ready, he was still none the wiser about what clothes to go for. He had enlisted the help of Azu, but she had said herself that she knew next to nothing about fashion. Every time he showed her an outfit, she just told him that it looked great. He had even tried showing her some truly atrocious combinations and she had responded with just as much enthusiasm. Either she was trying not to hurt his feelings, or she truly did know nothing about fashion. Still, it was nice to have the boost to his confidence either way. 

‘From what you’ve told me about Zolf, he doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who’s going to get hung up on what you’re wearing.’ She said, as he took off yet another cloak, complaining that it was too long and always tripped him up, but it was the best colour to compliment the dark red shirt he had spent the past half hour deciding on. 

‘No, but _I _care about what I’m wearing.’ He told her in frustration, as he tried on a cloak he had bought just the other week. It was dark grey, and rather a different cut than what he was used to. It had ruffles on the front that he hadn’t been quite sure on when he bought it, but he had eventually decided they looked quite nice. ‘_I’ll_ know if my outfits a mess, even if he doesn’t know enough about fashion to figure it out.’ He turned to look at himself in the mirror in the cloak. ‘What do you think of this one?’ He asked Azu.

‘I like it, I think you should go with that one,’ she said with a grin on her face, ‘The ruffles are really nice.’

‘Are you sure you’re not just saying that to make me hurry up?’

‘Hamid, I’m shocked!’ Azu said with a laugh and a look of pretend surprise on her face. ‘I’m a high priestess of Aphrodite, how dare you suggest I lie!’ Her tone was serious but look on her face as she was trying to hold back laughter made Hamid collapse into giggles of his own. ‘Seriously though, it looks good on you. If I’m saying that and I don’t even know anything about fashion, then you know you’ve got something good going on.’

That logic was somewhat questionable, but he didn’t have the time to keep being indecisive. ‘You know what, I think I will stick with this one after all.’ He said giving himself another glance over in the mirror. ‘Now, come and help me pick out some heels, he’s got to be able to kiss me without giving himself back problems from bending down so far.’ 

It was at that moment when Sasha burst through the door, gasping for breath, her legs covered in what looked like mud. At least Hamid hoped it was just mud- from the smell, it seemed like perhaps he was being overly optimistic.

‘Sasha are you alright?’ Azu had immediately rushed over to her side, while Hamid shoved the nearest pair of shoes onto his feet. This seemed like a situation that might require his involvement, and he was not leaving the house half-dressed unless it was literally about to blow up that very second. ‘Are you hurt? Do you need me to heal you?’ Azu was checking Sasha over for any major injuries while she panicked.

‘I’m fine,’ she said, brushing off Azu’s help, but not before she gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. ‘We need to go though. It’s Hamid, they’re going to kill him.’ she was speaking at a mile a minute, and Hamid was struggling to follow what she was saying. 

‘I’m sorry, what?’ he asked incredulously, ‘someone’s going to _kill _me?’ his voice was getting shrill at this point, the way it always did when he got stressed.

'No time to explain how,' she said grabbing his hand and almost yanking him out the door. 'We need to leave; we can talk as we run.' 

She tugged him down the stairs, Azu close behind, clearly as confused as Hamid was, but going along with Sasha anyway.

He stumbled on the stairs a little, unfortunately the shoes closest to him had been heels- short ones, but still heels. He was halfway decent at running in them, but he was strongly considering kicking them off his feet and carrying them. 

It took until that moment for him to realise how stupid he was being. Sasha had said someone was going to kill him, he could literally _die_and here he was worrying about his heels. He kicked them off his feet, and scooping them up in his arms kept running down the stairs. 

But by the time he had caught up to Sasha, he could see that he was too late. Barrett was standing in the hallway facing her, blocking their exit. He shouted at the top of his voice, with an undercurrent of viciousness that made Hamid's blood run cold. He caught only snippets of their conversation as his head was racing, and his fingers began to spark as his hands started twisting with the fabric of his cloak. He couldn't focus on anything, it was too loud, and he was too scared, and all he could think about was how he needed to make the magic stop. But it wouldn't go away, and to his horror the sparks coming out of his fingers kept flowing, scorching his new cloak. He buried his hands inside the cloak and prayed that Barrett wouldn't see anything out of the ordinary going on, that he was too distracted by his fight with Sasha. And through his panic, Hamid started to think about how he could get them out of this situation. Maybe he shouldn’t be afraid of using magic. Barrett was planning to murder him; the revelation of his abilities was a small price to pay for his life. So he focused on his hands and began to plan. 

_xi- oh, it suits me to feel strong _

He knew. Sasha felt a twisting sensation in her stomach as he spoke to her. They had heard her clambering out, she knew she hasn't been cautious enough and now she had to pay the price. They had gone out onto the street and seen her running, they hadn't followed her, so she thought she was safe. Turned out Barrett had been biding his time until he could confront her face to face. The streets were hers and clearly he wasn't prepared to give her that advantage. 

'Sasha, you wouldn't understand,' he was trying to control her, but she had fire pumping through her veins, his attempts to placate her weren't going to work. 

'Try me.' She spat out, staring him down. She had never felt so terrified, but that wasn't going to stop her. She had been waiting for this moment for almost all of her life, this was merely the last thing it took to push her to the breaking point. 'All you want is power and money. I can't believe you would not only agree to marry me off without my permission, but then you would also plot to murder him. For _money_. I don't care if he's a prince, I don't care if he can provide you political power, that's no excuse. I've had enough. Hamid and I are leaving, I guess that leaves two families in turmoil, but you've put yourselves in this situation. And Azu's coming too. None of us are staying under your roof anymore. Not when it's funded with,' she stopped, surprised she had managed to speak for so long without pausing to find the words, she had never been the most eloquent of speakers, even after all her coaching to fulfil her role of 'Lady Sasha Rackett', 'with the money of those you've tricked and murdered.’ She finished, and her heart was racing, but damn if it didn't feel good to finally stand up to him after all those years. 

Zolf sat on a bench in the park, his fingers drumming against his leg as he waited for Hamid to show up. He was coming, why wouldn’t he? But he couldn’t help but feel nervous as the minutes passed and he still hadn’t shown up. It was only a little past the time they had arranged to meet, and Zolf had been ridiculously early. Neither of those things stopped the strange twisting sensation in his stomach as he glanced along the street constantly to see if Hamid was on his way.

Hamid had completely forgotten that he was due to meet Zolf. This was not something that would normally happen- he was scatter-brained, but not over something so important to him. He felt, however, that given the current circumstances, that his forgetfulness could be forgiven. Sasha was currently yelling at the top of her lungs at Barrett Rackett, Azu at her side, her usually calm presence turned intimidating with the look of anger on her face and the way that her height allowed her to look down on everyone else in the room.

And then his stomach froze as he saw Barrett lunging towards Sasha, a glint of something silver in his hand. He didn't even think as he threw his hands out, reaching towards Barrett and letting fire burst from them, catching him in the chest and startling him enough that Sasha could slip away. 

Everything was hot. Everything was burning. The fire wouldn't stop coming from Hamid's hands. He couldn't control it; he was going to hurt his friends. His head rushed but all he could think was that this was it. He had let his magic get out of control and he was going to destroy everything. 

Then he felt a tug on his arm. It was Sasha, dragging him towards the front door and flinging it open, wincing as the hot metal of the door handle burned into her skin. Air. Clean air. He could breathe again, though the smoke was following them fast out of the building. He glanced around and made sure Azu was there- Sasha was stood next to her holding her hand. Hamid was sure Sasha was the only reason both of them were alive and out on the streets. 

The three of them ran, dishevelled, and scorched, not knowing quite what they were doing except from getting as far away from Barrett as possible. Hamid glanced back over his shoulder for a second to see the house entirely up in flames. He wasn't normally one for violence, but he hoped the man inside was burning as much as his home. He still couldn't believe what he had just done. Casting small sparks was the usual extent of his arcane ability, he had had no idea that he was able to create balls of roaring flames in his hands. It scared him a little bit- the sparks had been something easy to keep under his control and keep to himself. Fireballs, he suspected, were an entirely different matter.

As they got further and further from the burning building, Hamid’s mind began to stop racing at a hundred miles an hour, and it was only then that he realised that his feet were hurting rather a lot. He must have dropped his shoes at some point, or maybe burned them up in the flames, but either way there was nothing on his feet and the rough city streets were starting to take their toll on him. He cursed to himself as he ran over a pointy rock and felt it jab into his sole, why on earth did this have to happen to him. If he hadn’t picked out a pair of heels that were so difficult to walk in, he would be just fine right now. 

Heels. _Heels for his date with Zolf. _It came back to him that before everything had quite literally gone up in flames that afternoon, he had been due to meet with Zolf. He was most likely _very_ late at this point, but he had to go to him. Things had been so complicated between the two of them with this whole marriage business he was sure that if he didn’t show up Zolf was going to assume the worst. 

‘Sasha,’ he shouted to her ahead, struggling to catch his breath enough to talk. He hadn’t realised how much of a toll the sprinting had taken on his body, but his lungs were not thanking him for it. ‘Sasha, stop! I need to go to Zolf.’

‘Zolf?’ She said, a look of confusing crossing her face, ‘Hamid, why do you need to talk to your boyfriend, we need to get out of here.’ 

‘Please, I need to. Or he’ll think I’m going ahead with the marriage. I agreed to meet him this afternoon, I need to make things right between us. I’m going to do what I should have done from the start and tell my father about him. And I’m not going to let him talk me out of marrying the love of my life.’

‘Okay, that was nice and sappy, but we still need to get out of the city.’ Her tone remained as blunt as ever, but Hamid could have sworn he saw a hint of a smile flash across her face. ‘Where are you meeting, I’ll take you the fast route so we can all get out of here as soon as possible.’ 

He passed the location on to her, and then the three of them were off. Over rooftops, and through tunnels- much to Azu’s dislike. Sasha really did know her way around the city with her eyes shut. His lungs burned, Princes lives did not generally involve much exercise, and he was regretting that fact as he watched Sasha scramble up onto yet another rooftop, knowing he was going to have to follow her. But it was alright. For the first time in his life he trusted that everything was going to work out okay in the end.

_xii- and I told the world that I have a plan _

Zolf had now been waiting for almost an hour and was starting to think that Hamid wasn’t going to show up. He should have known better, Hamid was a literal prince, and far too kind and genuine for him. This whole thing had always felt far too good to be true from the beginning. He wasn’t going to blame Hamid for not wanting to keep a secret outside of his families approved marriage plans. He got it, he really did, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to mope about it. He had been in relationships before, but they had always felt like he had been dating someone for the sake of dating them. What he had with Hamid had been one of the first times that things felt _real _for him. The spark that everyone always talked about, the falling head over heels again every time you looked at them. All the clichés. Hamid was the first time they had ever made sense to him. And now he was alone once again. 

It would be fine. He was a busy man. He would just take on some more remote jobs for the church. Explore the world and lose himself a little in it, make sure he avoided Cairo for the next couple of months. He was devastated, but then again he had always known in the back of his mind that this was going to happen. 

With a resigned sigh, he stood up from the bench, wandering over to have a look at the ducks before he went to leave. And that was when he heard someone calling his name and spun around to see who it was. 

‘Zolf!’ Hamid was shouting, and god, he looked a long way from his normal put together self. He was covered in what appeared to be ash and soot, and he wasn’t wearing any shoes. Panting like he had just run a marathon, Hamid ran over to him and embraced him. Zolf accepted the hug, despite his confusion, and desire not to also become covered in what looked like the remains of a bonfire. 

‘Hamid, what happened?’ he asked once he had pulled away, ‘Are you hurt? Are you alright?’ 

‘It’s a long story,’ Hamid said with a grin, despite everything that had just happened. ‘But first I need to let you know that the marriage is off. I’m going to introduce you to my parents, screw what they think. Who I spend my life with is _my_ choice, and if you’re alright with it, I rather think I’d like that to be you.’ 

Zolf didn’t know what to say, but his face broke out in a grin, and he answered by embracing Hamid once more and pressing his lips to Hamid’s in a kiss. It felt right. And perfect. And was exactly what he was meant to be doing in that moment. When he pulled away, he felt a slight dampness on his cheeks, and when he looked over at Hamid the other was crying as well. They made their own life now. And no one could tell them otherwise. 

_epilogue i- I’m ready now _

Boats, Sasha had decided, were absolutely brilliant inventions. She was only sad it had taken her this long in life to get to experience the wonders of the ocean. She ran up and down the rigging, peering out over the wide sea from the mast, only coming down when it got rocky and Azu needed someone to comfort her through her queasiness. They four of them were all headed to Cairo, along with a goblin called Grizzop who had been working with Zolf from the church of Artemis. He liked his shiny arrows almost as much as Sasha liked her shiny knives, and the two of them clicked almost instantly. 

Sasha had nowhere to return to now, she truly was now without family. But somehow, she felt more excited than scared, for she had Azu with her- as well as Hamid, Zolf and now Grizzop- and that was all the family she needed. Her last family had been shitty. She made her own family now. Hamid needed to return to Cairo, and didn’t want to rely on his family to arrange teleportation, as well as deciding that a few weeks journeying on the open sea would give him the time he needed to work things out about what on earth he was going to do with his life. 

Sasha also needed to work out what she was going to do with her life. She was heading to Cairo with the others and was planning to stay there if she could find work. Azu was going to help her settle in, before returning to London for the rest of the year to finish her training under Aaron Fairhands. Sasha didn’t want to lose Azu so soon, but Hamid and Zolf had reassured them that romance through letters- though no substitute for the real thing- wouldn’t be _too _bad until Azu returned. 

So, Sasha still had no idea what she was doing. But she was free from Barrett and had a brilliant and supportive girlfriend. Whatever the world decided to toss at her, she was going to be alright. 

_epilogue ii- you don’t like the ending? then we’ll find one that’s yours_

The village was bustling with activity. Azu reckoned she had never seen so many people at once in the tiny place where she had grown up, but today it was filled with all her family and most of the church of Aphrodite. Sasha’s side of the guests was significantly smaller in size, with Zolf, Hamid and Grizzop along with a few other people that she had met over the last year in Cairo. 

Azu had spent close to an hour catching up with Hamid and Zolf when they had arrived, which had put all her wedding preparation far behind schedule. They had been off travelling the world and fighting evil, well that was what their new friend- a paladin of Apollo called Ed- had seemed to suggest. He certainly had seemed very enthusiastic about the whole smiting evil part of what they were doing. Hamid had gushed over all the places where he had visited, and at her gentle questioning Hamid reassured her that things were alright- if a little rocky- with his family. His father hadn’t been at all impressed with his son running off with an adventurer to do good in the world, but Hamid had stood his ground and hadn’t taken no for an answer. 

‘I’m so proud of you,’ Azu had told him with a smile on her face, ‘But I really do need to get my dress on now.’ It was a lovely pale purple colour, she had wanted pink, but it had clashed with Sasha’s suit, and it was nice to have a different colour to her signature for a change. She hadn’t been able to get him to stop talking, so in the end she agreed to let him do some light makeup for her while he recounted tales of his adventures. 

At last it was time. Sasha had been ready for several hours now, dressed in a dark green suit similar to the one Azu had seen her in the first time they met. Azu was certain she had many, many knives concealed in her suit, but in her hands she held no weapons, only a bunch of white flowers. She even had one in her hair, Azu had _really _had to bribe her for that one. 

She looked stunning, and walking up to meet her Azu felt like the luckiest woman in the world to be the one to become her wife. In true Sasha form, she stumbled over her vows, but she didn’t seem at all nervous, and even laughed along with Azu when she tripped over her words. It didn’t matter, for it was so utterly Sasha that Azu couldn’t _not _love her for it. 

They exchanged rings as well as a kiss, and then they were married. 

‘I have a wife!’ Sasha was exclaiming excitedly to Hamid, waving her hand around with the unadorned silver band on it. Azu’s own ring was slightly more intricate, with weaving strands making a gorgeous pattern, and she glanced down at it with a grin as Sasha waved her own around. 

‘I was there for the whole ceremony Sasha,’ Hamid said with a slightly exasperated, but fond, smile on his face. 

‘I still can’t believe it, she’s just so wonderful, and she’s my wife! My _wife _Hamid. I don’t think I’m getting the importance of it through enough.’ 

Azu wandered over and tapped her on the shoulder before wrapping her arms around her, pressing kisses to her cheeks. She had learned early on, that she couldn’t just approach Sasha unannounced. She had incredibly sharp instincts, which were very useful most of the time, but had also led her to pulling a knife on Azu before she had learned this.

‘Gross,’ Grizzop said, from where he was standing beside Hamid, toothy grin still etched on his face, ‘get a room!’ 

‘Later,’ Azu said with a wink, and laughed when Grizzop made a gagging noise at that. ‘But I have a few hundred relatives who are all dying to get to know you Sasha,’ She said, tugging Sasha over to where a crowd of her aunts, great grandmother, and several cousins were all waiting eagerly to meet her new wife. 

Sasha coped remarkably well with the barrage of questions, all things considered. But as they walked away, she did whisper ‘never make me do that again,’ into Azu’s ear.

Generally, they all seemed to get along alright once Sasha had got over her initial discomfort of _so many people_. They wanted to know everything about her, and upon learning that Azu was really the only family she had aside from her group of friends, were very quick to adopt her and promise that they were going to annoy her as if she was their own. She had never been an emotional person, but that had almost made her cry. Her own family hadn’t been much of a family at all to her, their love strictly conditional, if it was even present- so being welcomed with open arms was something she hadn’t ever experienced. 

She could get used to this, she realised as another one of Azu’s cousins was teasing her about how ridiculously sappy the two of them were as a couple. If this was what it was to be part of a family, then she was very happy to be becoming part of Azu’s.

By the time they’d finished talking to everyone, dancing very badly- for both of them had two left feet it would seem- and eating obscene amounts of cake, it was getting dark, the sun setting over the mountains. Azu’s own childhood home was a short walk away from the main street of the village where they had held the ceremony, and the two of them walked back hand in hand as the dying sunlight cast a golden glow over the scene. They talked, and joked, Azu not caring that her lovely dress was getting dusty on the ground as they walked. As they reached the door, Sasha hoisted Azu into her arms to carry her over the threshold, not caring that Azu was almost a foot taller than her and significantly more muscular. 

She ran through to the bedroom, almost dropping Azu down onto the bed, before jumping on to join her, the two of them laughing between kisses as they made short work of each other’s clothes.

Later that night, after the two of them had worn each other out, they made their way up to the rooftop to look at the stars. Coming from the city, and spending half her life in passages and tunnels, Sasha had never really looked at the stars properly. Azu knew the stars like Sasha knew the streets of London, and was pointing out the constellations to her, telling her the stories behind them. It was still warm at night in Kenya, so they could stay out as long as they wanted without fear of getting cold. Sasha clutched one of Azu’s hands in her own and realised just how happy she was. A couple of years ago, she would have never believed that she would stand up to Barrett and make something of her life for herself, free from his interference. But here she was, and she had the most wonderful woman in the world by her side as she forged her way. 

Sasha Rackett looked up at the stars, and thought to herself, that in the vast expanse of the universe she had found her place that she could make her own. And she couldn’t be doing it in better company.


End file.
